matching scarves!!

 i suspect you can't tell from any of the pictures but there it is.  we are all wearing matching red monkey scarves.  so cute.  so weird too i guess. i  can live with weird.  weird keeps me from falling into a depression i suspect. 

 being single is not always the easiest path. society, well even family members, seem to feel the need to find your faults...why you haven't married.  like somehow, getting a ring on your finger is proof of normalcy.  believe me i see people all the time and marriage can't fix oddness. 

 but for years people seemed bent on questioning me until they found my flaw.  believe me, they always found one.  we all have them.  they needed to find mine though so they could move on.  we could not have a normal conversation until we settled on my great flaw that was the cause of nobody wanting to marry me. 

 i still have flaws and i am still single so they must have all  been right.  not sure why people who never marry make those who do so uncomfortable...anyone?  I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

 i don't believe any particular flaw of mine was a direct cause.  why i didn't marry...?  i think the answer is simply, i never found the right partner.  i could have settled, i could have married just to say i was married.  i believe it's not worth doing unless you really feel you can make a good job of it.  i was not keen on divorce.  frankly i feel i am a success in that i never divorced nor did i have  children with anyone accidentally.  shouldn't i be held up in society, rather than seen as lesser than? 

 in the end, i guess it would have made everyone more comfortable if i had just married someone, anyone and then divorced.  then they would not have to seek out my great unmarrying flaw. 

 other things went into me not marrying I'm sure.  i wanted to sort out my feelings of what i believed.  that takes time.  i am very independent and strong willed.  not every guy can handle a woman who can stand alone. i always found it odd that many men seemed to prefer a female that needed to be with them over one that chose to be with them. 

 though in my 30's enough married men hit on me that i started to think that those women that needed them quite possibly wore on them a bit....suddenly a strong, independent female looked attractive.  i saw them from across the room eyeing me and then slyly sneaking their wedding rings into their pockets.  at one point i insisted on seeing divorce papers prior to dating. 

 a few days out at North Bivouac.  yesterday with the pups. it was cloudy. 

 the pups got some nice beards going though.

 Tusker looks quite distinguished.

 today was Monday walk.  it was really beautiful out there.  chilly but pretty.  i took a dog frisbee in hopes of transitioning from tennis balls..we lose so many tennis balls in the winter...then we lost the frisbee.  the tennis balls are much cheaper.  we lost one of those later today

 it was so pretty and the sunset was approaching so i headed down to OceanView Bluff Park for the first time this season.   you have to wait for the boggy bits to freeze up

 it is nicely frozen now with a little snow pack. there were even some sledders out there. i did load my sleds up and debated a run down the hill before we left.  after being out all day i was chilled the dogs were pretty tired so we just headed home. 

 hit a movie with a friend last night.  dinner first at the Moose....then we saw, "Murder on the Orient Express".  very enjoyable. lots of big names in there.  it was the same sort of silly sleuth movie like this other movie...not the marigold hotel but another one with a much longer name...hmm.  it will come to me later.  worth a view though i think.

 here we are at today. 

 i had stopped by JoAnnes before the dinner/movie outing to look at fleece for these scarfs.  omg...they have tons of fleece! how do you just pick one!  the pups will have more matching scarves later.  I'm not sure i will join them with more but they look cuter on them than on me.  actually felt a bit hot with that fleece on today.

 thanks MW for the family shots. 

 so yes, i am odd.  i am strange.  i have matching scarves with my dogs, i have a dressed Skeleton on my porch, i take walks alone.  i take loads of pictures.

 i have hobbies. hobbies keep you sane though.  i could sit here day after day eating, getting fat, watching TV and feeling horribly sorry for myself.  instead i blog, i walk, i dress Skelly, i craft, i photograph, i read.  i think no matter what happens in your life, married or not, you do have to  have distractions.  without them it's easy to wallow i think.

 self pity is pretty dull.  i don't like to hang out with pity party types.  we all have issues and we all need to talk and to be heard.  we also all need to find ways to distract ourselves or go mad. 

 i think the folks i tend to hand with do this...whether they are single, like myself, or with a partner. 

 i need to get back on my guitar more and in the pool more.  those are great distractions as well that i have slacked off. i did ponder the pool briefly this evening.  the dogs were pretty wiped after that second walk.  they had their second wind a bit ago and i heard them slamming in and out of the dog door several times.

 they are again sacked out. 

 tonight i watched more of Downton Abbey. i had never seen the last few seasons so i am enjoying those.  I'm also reading a book a friend was planning for a book club meet up.  "spoonbenders" i think it's called.  it's pretty long and i think it's been a bit slow starting. 

 bundled for the cold.  no wind though.

 it's always a bit more chill out on the ponds.

 the pups did great with the frisbee though.  even though we lost it on the way back..in this same area.  bummer as it was a good toy. 

 we saw one moose on the trail on the official walk and then this evening i saw a family of 3 out on the shore.  they were foraging and i don't think they even lifted their heads as we went by. good thing as there are only skinny trees to hide behind if they opted to chase us.  i get the impression they are out here often.

 trying to keep the ice between the toes cleared up.  I've seen a recipe for a waxy foot solution that you slip on their feet before the walk.  beeswax and some oils that you heat up...i may have to mix some up...of course, that will mean i will have waxy stuff all over the already dirty car.

 MW decided to amuse us with a headstand on the ice.  this is actually when the frisbee got lost.  i was trying to distract the puppies and take photo's and i tossed the toy...i usually watch pretty close where i through stuff so that i have a  hope of finding it if they don't. 

 they aren't as skilled as Blossom was at locating stuff in the snow, nor do they have the interest to stick to the search like she did....they simply turn to each other and begin to wrestle.  the joys of having siblings

 both dogs made attempts to knock her over...

 but she was eventually successful.  she had done this on a beach in Mexico a week or two ago i think...the boots were heavy and made it a bit tougher.

 eventually, success!!

 well done.

 i think i would hurt myself for sure if i tried this.  i really need to get myself back into a yoga routine.  limber up the joints. that and the pool are both great for us as we tick up in years. 

 the rest are the start of the sunset tonight.  no clouds, still pretty.  just a big yellow orb in the sky.

 when it hits  a certain point it drops fast.  we booked it down the hill and out on the flats pretty fast...well as fast as two wrestling puppies will move forward.

 they hadn't been here since last winter so much to smell and investigate.

 this is the sledding hill.  such a great hill. i am ready..i think more snow comes tomorrow.

 i also have a massage scheduled for tomorrow. i was shocked she had one available and part of me is expecting it's some sort of error. will be perfect though. my forearm and shoulder could benefit from a little massage. 

 putting on coats and such can be a twinge of pain and trying to shift the car from drive to park...i get a little extra help from my other hand.

 no politics tonight.  nothing new really.  same old crap, different day. 

 I'll be working Thanksgiving.  our holidays are set months in advance.  if you want a holiday off you have to go months in advance for sure. need to plan a Boston trip...never been there and really not sure how long my brother will stay there.  should get there before he moves. want to plan a trip to Iceland as well....and then there is the kitchen remodel.

 all i did today was drop off the glass recycling.  they don't pick that up at the curb.

 the light at sunset is always so beautiful. 

 i shall watch a bit more of Downton abbey before crashing.  will i accomplish anything tomorrow or not...that is the question. haha.

thankful for:  A.  being odd/weird, whatever it is.  at least it keeps life interesting and keeps me from being foul and depressed.  B.  my sweet fur family.  C.  vision and cameras.